A Journey to Remember
by ShippingGamer1605
Summary: A little one-shot about Shiori meeting and falling in love with Saber, the sell-sword Celica hires. I apologize for two things that may be apparent; 1) This may seemed rushed, but I didn't want to write out all of Celica's route (since I haven't played through the entire game yet) 2) Saber may be OoC, but I tried my best to keep him in character. Hope you enjoy it!


Just like Mae and Boey, I was tasked by Nomah to be Celica's bodyguard. As for where I came from, my mother brought me to the priory when she was on death's door. Back then, I was only seven years old. Mae and Boey are like my younger siblings. Celica's a person I look up to; she holds her head high, despite how life has given her nothing but pain and hardship.

We were at Novis harbor, looking for a ship that could sail us to Zofia harbor. An old man at the wharf told us there were pirates roaming the seas, and that, if we could stop them, he would sail us to our destination.

Celica and I made our way to the tavern, where one of the women said a sellsword was hanging out. Mae and Boey waited by the door, arguing about whose magic was stronger.

When we walked in, I spotted a man with a sword by his side in the back. I led Celica to him and he looked up at us.

"You're Saber, yes?" Celica began, getting down to business.

"Yep. Who're you, girls?"

"I'm Shiori, and her name is Celica."

"Yes," she added. "The people here speak quite highly of your skill with a blade. I'd like to enlist your services as a protector."

He cocked his head a little to the right. "Guard duty, eh? You headed somewhere, or is this a local deal?"

"We seek the Temple of Mila."

Saber's brow furrowed. "That's awfully far. And I suppose you've already heard about our little pirate problem?"

I nodded. "Yeah. One of the old sailors told us that he would sail us if we cleared the pirates out."

"It's the reason we seek your aid, in fact." She smirked. "Unless you think a few mere pirates are too much for you to handle?"

Saber smirked as well. "Oh, that's real cute. Believe me, lass, I ain't worried about a couple sea rats. All I'm worried about is if you can pay. I don't work charity cases. Especially when I'm risking my own neck."

I pulled out my bag of money. For the years I spent on Novis, I saved up a lot of gold and silver marks, just in case I needed to either bribe or pay someone. However, Celica stopped me, pushing my hand holding the cash back towards me.

She held out her golden dagger. "I'm afraid I haven't much money, but I do have this."

"A dagger?" His hands delicately held it as he looked it over with a wolf whistle. "Well, ain't you fancy?"

"Will this be sufficient for your services?" she asked nervously.

"You mean will I risk life and limb for a single dagger? Ordinarily, no." Celica and I both looked down, frowning. "But," he started again, "since I like your moxie, I'm gonna go ahead and give you a break." He chuckled. "You got a deal. I'll get you to your temple."

We beamed at each other. "Wonderful! You have our thanks, Saber." She ran out of the tavern, her smile never wavering. "Mae! Boey! Did you hear that? He's going to come with us!"

I watched her and the others walk out, all happy to be able to continue on their journey. Behind me, I heard Saber scoff.

"Heh. This job's got easy money written all over it. What kind of fool hands over treasure like this without batting an eye? She really must be daddy's spoiled little lass."

I turned to face him, a somber shadow over my face. "She isn't." He looked at me, confused. "That dagger was a family heirloom passed down to each generation. It's the last thing she had to remember her family by." Saber's eyes widened, looking over the dagger again.

Saber picked a bottle of ale up off the table, taking a swig. "I can't take this from her," he muttered. "Not now that I know how important it is. I may be a simple sellsword, but I have a heart. Here, give this back to her."

An idea popped into my head. I pulled my bag of cash out again, setting it on the table. "Then take this instead. Hopefully it's enough money." He opened the bag, poking around to see how much was in it.

His hand came out as a fist, fingers uncurling to drop a few gold marks in front of me. "This'll be plenty. Thank you, lass." I nodded, a blush rising to my cheeks. We walked out together, headed to the wharf where Celica and the others were waiting.

Mae looked at me, a glint in her eyes. The old man led us onto his ship and we were off. A salty breeze blew northward, leading the ship onward. As I was staring out at the ocean, someone placed a hand on my shoulder, startling me. Turning around, I saw Mae behind me with a sly smirk.

"Heya Shiori," she greeted, removing her hand. "What's up?"

I took a breath. "Nothing much, Mae. What about you?"

"Oh, just curious about something I saw earlier. When you walked out of the tavern with Saber, you were blushing. That seems a little suspicious, considering you weren't drunk." Her eyes were staring right into mine, knowing that she had me pinned.

"W-Well, I… Uh…" I coughed, trying to regain my composure. "It was really warm in there, that's all." Her expression said it all; she didn't believe me in the slightest. Before she could pry into my personal life, the ship rocked, nearly knocking me off my feet.

A pirate ship was trying to board us. Celica and Saber were already on the port side, with Celica trying to reason with the pirates. I watched as Saber pulled out his Iron Sword, taking a protective stance in front of her. Secretly, my heart wished that he would do the same for me, but I knew that he was only doing it because it was his job. I readied my lance, taking a battle stance beside Mae. Boey joined us and we battled the pirates.

After the fight, I was kind of fatigued, but I walked over to check on Celica anyway. My left foot swept under my right, knocking me off-balance. The fall I expected, where I landed on the wooden deck, never came, much to my surprise. Looking up, I saw that Saber was there, his arms wrapped loosely around my shoulders.

"Easy there, lass. Let's get you below deck so you can rest." My face heated up as he helped me walk down to the crew quarters. He had his right arm under my arms, my left arm draped over his shoulders. My heart was racing and I prayed to Mila that he couldn't feel or hear it.

We made it to one of the rooms and he set me down on a bed. "Make sure you get some rest. We're bound to run into more pirates while we're sailing."

I nodded. "Got it. Thanks, Saber." He turned away and walked out the room, scratching the back of his neck. With a smile, I got comfortable and fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke up feeling refreshed and energized. Boey was waiting for me, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed.

"You should get up earlier," he chided. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Tell that to Mae," I teasingly retorted. He blushed, turning to face the floor. "Let me guess, she's still sleeping." His glare showed true annoyance, but it only made me laugh harder.

"Don't. Tell. Anyone." He stormed off, keeping himself from screaming in rage. I know he won't tell anyone else, but he's in love with Mae. The sad truth was that, even though he had been trying to tell her how he felt, she was too oblivious to his hints.

Then Saber came to mind. No no no! I can't like him like that! We just met yesterday! Shaking my head, I ran up to the deck, where Celica and Saber were discussing something. They saw me and flagged me over. I approached nervously, curious about what they needed to tell me.

"Shiori, I heard from Saber that you almost passed out yesterday. Are you feeling okay to fight?" This was just like Celica; always thinking of others before herself.

"Yeah, I was pretty exhausted, but I'm feeling great today!" Saber was eyeing me while Celica smiled.

"I see." She walked away, leaving me alone with Saber.

I faced him. "Are you okay, Saber?" He snapped out of his stupor.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about my sister," he said. I gave him a "hmm" and leaned on the deck railing. "Careful there, lass, or you might fall into the sea."

Just like yesterday, the boat jostled, signaling another pirate attack. We took up battle positions and easily finished them off. The trip went like that until we made it to Zofia Harbor. From what the people were saying, some boy named Alm and the Deliverance freed Zofia Castle from Chancellor Desaix's hold.

Celica looked uneasy the whole way there, which made me concerned. The castle was larger than I imagined it being, amazing Mae, Boey, and myself.

"Sweet jumping jesters! Now this is a castle! It's huge! And it's gorgeous!" Mae was in awe, her eyes almost literally sparkling.

"Keep it down, would you, Mae? We're not here to gawk at the sights like a band of slack-jawed wayfarers," Boey complained, sending an annoyed glare at the perky mage.

Mae scoffed. "Whatever, Professor Funslayer. Even you have to admit it's great."

"I never said it wasn't impressive," he quickly retorted. "A far cry from the ramshackle fishing huts we grew up in, that's for sure."

She started going on about how cool it would be to live in the palace with servants and getting to eat lots of delicacies. However, Boey cut her off by clearing his throat, motioning to Celica. Mae's face reflected the guilt she felt at her obliviousness.

"Oh, right. Shoot, Celica. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to-" She stopped, an idea coming to mind. "Actually, you know what? I think we'll just go on ahead!" She grabbed Boey by the arm and dragged him towards the castle. I couldn't hold back a laugh as he struggled against her iron grip.

I saw Saber talking with Celica for a moment before walking towards me. We continued on, Celica following behind us. Her scream alerted both of us, making us turn around to see what was wrong. A cantor was there, holding her in place with dark magic.

My feet were moving on their own, rushing me towards the fiend. "Shiori, wait!" Saber called, but I couldn't stop. Something grabbed at my ankles, anchoring me down. Saber had been chasing after me, the same thing happening to him.

"Join me, O child of fate. Come to Lord Duma's side," he muttered. Celica turned her head away.

"These must be the remnants of Desaix's blasted army. We're not Deliverance, you idiots! Leave us out of this!" Saber was now struggling against his bindings, trying to break the magic.

I shook my head. "These aren't Desaix's men. They're after Celica!"

He grimaced. "Well, they're gonna her, at this rate! Damn those two morons for running off and leaving us. Their giddy little sightseeing tour is gonna get us killed!"

"Don't blame them! None of us could've known that this would happen!" Celica screamed again, jerking my attention over to her and the cantor.

"Celica!" we called in unison. However, before I could do anything, someone rode in on horseback, freeing Celica from the cantor's magic. Saber and I were freed as well, and we were immediately by her side.

The stranger pointed his lance at the cantor, the end glowing a soft blue. "Begone, you base filth. You are unfit to lay hand or eye upon the young woman." He was charming, I'll give him that, but the old "knight in shining armor" act was old school.

We battled the creeps, forcing them to retreat. I covered Saber from any magic attacks, while he took them out. Celica stuck close to the knight, backing him up. When the battle was over, the knight was gone.

Confused but glad to be alive, we entered the castle, where Boey and Mae were waiting for us. Saber told them about what happened, giving them both a firm warning about keeping close, and they both apologized, embarrassed and guilty.

I looked at the people that were there, all of them unique in their own way. These must be the knights of the Deliverance. Someone grabbed my hand, pulling me to face them.

"Heya. I'm Gray. Who are you, beautiful?" He brought my hand up to kiss it.

"The name's Shiori," I introduced, pulling away. "It's nice to meet you, but I'm not interested in the flirty type. Sorry," I replied with a wink. Behind him, a brown-haired boy was laughing, trying to muffle his amusement. Gray hung his head low, walking over to the other boy. I met a few of the other knights, Clive, Kliff, Lukas, and Tobin, but returned to Mae, Boey, and Saber.

They were waiting by the staircase, waiting for Celica. She had run up the stairs to reunite with her old friend. I took a seat next to Saber. He was lost in thought, eyes closed and his focus intense.

Mae glanced at me, just like she did a week ago, with that knowing look in her eyes. I covered my face with my hands to hide my internal embarrassment. Saber sat down next to me with a soft thud.

"You alright, Shiori?" he asked, concerned. I took a breath, trying to regain my composure, and looked up at him. His face was close to mine, a little too close, but I didn't think about it.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just lost in thought. How are you holding up?" He turned away, crossing his arms and legs.

"Same as you. I can't stop thinking about what happened earlier. Those guys were trying to take Celica, and that white knight wasn't any less suspicious," he explained.

"Yeah. That guy did seem a little off. It's just really strange. By the way-" I was cut off by a blur of white, gold, and red passing us. We were on our feet in an instant, following Celica outside.

Our group continued travelling, none of us brave enough to ask Celica what happened. During that time, I finally remembered to return Celica's dagger, we fought a few terrors, the occasional cantor, and ran into the strange knight once again. About a third of the way to the temple, we found a village near the mountains' base. The people, thankfully, welcomed us with open arms, letting us stay there for the night.

That night, I spotted Saber sneaking off to the tavern. I decided to follow him, seeing as though I wasn't anywhere near falling asleep. He spotted me, shocked, but I sat across from him anyway.

"What are you doing here, lass?" I grabbed the unopened bottle of ale and sipped it.

I set it down gently. "I saw you coming here, so I decided to follow you. We never got to finish our conversation back at the castle," I explained. He took a swig of his drink. My heart was racing, but I ignored it, willing my mind to be sensible when talking to him.

Truth be told, I've grown a small crush on the rugged sellsword. He's shown me his soft side while we've been travelling, even if he won't admit it, but I know he doesn't like me like that. I felt that it would be better if I just confessed and got the rejection over with.

"Um, about what I wanted to tell you before, I…" I trailed off, the butterflies in my stomach paralyzing my lips.

He raised an eyebrow at me. With a firm shaking of my head, I stared him dead in the eyes.

"I like you, Saber!" I whisper-shouted. Thankfully, nobody else heard my confession.

Saber blinked twice, dumbfounded as he chugged the rest of his ale. "Lass, are you serious?" I nodded. "Well, this just got awkward." My heart skipped a beat, trying to give me a glimmer of hope. I pushed it down because it would ease the blow of his rejection.

Silence fell over us, the chatter of the tavern muted in my ears.

"Shiori, you're a nice girl, but are you sure about that? I'm no fairytale boyfriend that you can run over the rainbow with. My track record isn't exactly the best, after all."

That was all I needed to hear. "Thank you for being honest. Goodnight, Saber." With that, I grabbed the mostly-full bottle of ale and rushed out the tavern before I started crying.

When I made it to my temporary room, my back slammed onto the door and tears started falling down my face. Even when I wiped them away, they wouldn't stop. I tried to soften the blow as much as possible, but rejection is the worst kind of pain I've ever felt. Ironically, it doesn't leave any scars; just a gaping hole in your heart.

The time passed like the wind, too quick to keep track of, but when we made it to the Temple of Mila, everything we knew was behind us. I had stopped trying to get closer to Saber, knowing my efforts were useless, but we still hung out like old friends. I played it off like I was fine, but my heart was still wounded.

Celica led us forward, her crowning giving her new strength. The news shocked a few of our troops, but most of us already knew. It relieved me to know that Celica had one less secret to keep. I looked over at the princess, seeing that she was having a "girl talk" with Mae. Our eyes connected and she ended their talk, making her way over to me.

"Shiori? What's the matter?" she asked. I grabbed her by the upper arm, resting my forehead on her shoulder. She stood there shocked for a second before rubbing my back like a mother calming her child.

"Can we talk for a minute in private?" I requested. She agreed, letting me lead us to a secluded area.

"What's bothering you, Shiori?" she asked again. I looked up at her, my eyes stinging from the oncoming tears.

Taking a shaky breath, I said, "It's Saber. He's done nothing wrong, but after I told him about my feelings for him, I've been restless, crying every time I'm alone, and just not my normal self. My heart hurts, but I know that he doesn't love me back. Meanwhile, my feelings for him are growing stronger by the hour!" I sobbed, holding my face in my hands. "I don't know what to do anymore."

She embraced me fully. "You need to talk to him. Even if it seems like the opposite of the right thing." I shook my head, releasing myself from her gentle hold.

"He'll just think I'm overreacting." I wanted to talk to him, to tell him everything I was feeling from that night onward, but it felt like needless complaining.

Celica gave me a tiny smack on the cheek. "That vey mindset is why you're not able to talk with Saber. I'm not even able to talk with the boy I love because he's off fighting his side of this war. Take the chance life has given you. You'll regret not taking it." She gave me a lingering embrace before returning to the others.

I fell to the floor, curling up into myself. Memories of my moments alone with Saber started flashing through my mind, showing me the better times. However, I stopped my subconscious reminiscence. It was better this way… right?

Footsteps echoed through the basement, the sound becoming louder as they approached. "Mae, if you're here to comfort me, I don't need it."

"Sorry, lass, but I'm not the person you expected."

That voice! I looked up, seeing Saber sitting next to me. He was looking up at the ceiling, his mind wandering.

"What's up, Saber?" I didn't want to burden him with my dramatic emotions. He turned to me, his gaze hard.

"Don't act you're alright, Shiori. Ever since that night, you've been distant from everyone, even Celica. It's because of what I told you, isn't it?"

I chuckled, wiping my eyes. "What gave it away?" He held my hand, pulling it away from my eyes.

"Shiori, I'm sorry that I hurt you, but it was better than lying. Not telling the truth would have hurt us both more than we already are." My eyes met his and it was like a spark lit up between us.

His face told me of his pain, but it also reflected his compassion. "If I'm really what you want, then we can take that chance." I wrapped my arms around him, damning my mind's pleas to not become more attached.

I buried my face in the crook of his neck, sniffling. "Thank you. This means the world to me." He chuckled, holding me close. We stayed together for that moment, the world temporarily forgotten.

Our journey went on, the bond between me and Saber growing ever stronger. While we were travelling to Duma Tower in Rigel, one of the Duma Faithful, Dolth, decided to attack us. The battle was tough, since his Keep was surrounded by the poisonous swamp. As we approached him, Dolth prepared his magic.

The same purple smog from before wrapped itself around Mae, squeezing her and draining her strength slowly.

"Mae!" Boey called. Celica stepped up to the cantor, offering herself to him.

"Stop this! Take me, but leave my friends alone!" An evil grin spread across Dolth's face. Before he could grab her, a lance pierced him through his abdomen, the cantor's body vaporizing.

That white knight again! He walked up to Celica, slapping her. She gasps, holding her cheek gingerly.

I stepped up to them. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Would you so easily cast your life aside?" He ignored me!

"My choices are not your matter, sir. You have aided me more than once, and I am grateful for it, but who are you to know how I should spend my life? What could you possibly know about me?"

Her outburst left us all speechless; even Mae was at a loss for words. Saber came up behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I held his hand for a moment as the knight went to remove his mask. That shocked us even more. He was her brother all this time?

He then went on to explain how he survived the burning of the villa. It was both heartwarming and relieving to see Celica truly smile. She's been through so much, ever since we started this journey, and even before then.

Our journey went on, and we even had to fight Jedah, the "mastermind" behind the Duma Faithful. The trek to Duma Tower was tiring, seeing as though we were attacked at almost every chance we had to catch our breath. Once we made it there, we were able to blast through the few Terrors that were conjured.

Jedah was waiting for us at the top. He revealed that Celica had agreed to sacrifice herself to bring back Mila and Duma. I knew it was a trap, but she couldn't be dissuaded. Even though he promised to let us go free, that trickster teleported us somewhere underground, where Terrors were running rampant.

My heart sank to my feet, fear crawling over me and infecting my mind. I looked for Saber, Mae, anyone I recognized, but I soon realized I was alone. I cried out my fear, stabbing and cutting my way through the waves of Terrors.

All I wanted was to be with my friends and lover.

Soon enough, I found a clearing. There were Terrors everywhere and I heard a few stand-out voices. They're alive! I'm not alone down here! I gripped my lance tightly, taking down creature after creature.

My body was exhausted, both from crying and the nonstop fighting, but when I saw Saber's face, I ran to him. My arms instinctively wrapped around him, and my legs gave out, pushing us both down to the ground.

"Whoa, lass!" He sat us up, taking a good look at my face. "Are you alright?" I nodded, resting my face on his chest.

"I am now that I know you guys are safe," I muttered, letting out a soft sigh. Everyone smiled, knowing that nobody had died. The lingering fear that Celica had already been sacrificed hung over us like a fog, but we soldiered on, fighting off the multiple monsters.

A thought flashed in my mind. What if this is where we die? Is this where our lives end? If that happens, I want to die without regrets. Turning around, I saw Saber holding his arm to soothe the pain. I rushed to heal him, rubbing the now-bruised spot on his arm.

"Saber? There's something I need to do. Just in case this is the end." He was about to protest what I said, but I stopped him by pressing my lips to his own. His whole body jumped from shock, not expecting the kiss.

Reluctantly, I pulled back, blushing. "Sorry, Saber. I just had to get that off my chest. I'm sorry if-" I was cut off by his arms looping around me, pulling me close.

"We're all getting out of here alive. Got it? I swear it on my life." He cupped my face and kissed me. It was desperate, a move that conveyed his desires and hopes. My body moved on its own, reciprocating the display of affection for a moment before stopping.

"I want to be with you, Saber, truly. For now, let's focus on you keeping your promise." I couldn't help but smirk at him, his chuckle warming my heart.

We returned to fighting off the Terrors until a ray of light shone from deep within the dark caverns. It was Alm and Celica! They were alive; more importantly, Celica hadn't been sacrificed to Duma!

"Celica!" Mae ran up to her, embracing her tightly. Boey was watching them with a smile.

Celica looked at Alm, then all of us. "It's time. We're going to free Duma from his corruption."

"That's right," Alm added. "Are you ready to fight for the future of Valentia?" The cry echoed through the caverns, rattling the walls. We marched forward, renewing our courage for the fight ahead.

It was tough, to say the least. One of Alm's companions, Tatiana, almost fainted from healing everyone. Jedah was also fighting us again, still summoning freaky eyeball Terrors that could multiply. Celica used her Seraphim to take him out easily, his disgusting purple self dissipating. I smirked before chopping yet another eyeball down.

Alm was making his way towards Duma's corrupted corpse, Falchion in hand. Celica was right behind him, along with a girl named Faye, to keep him covered. I looked around the battlefield and saw Duma's one red eye charge up for an attack. Then I saw that Saber was in Duma's range of attack.

His blood-red laser shot across the field and, without thinking, I jumped in front of Saber to protect him. Pain shot through my body, but I still had a sense of feeling. Saber was holding my slightly scorched body, gripping my arm tightly.

Silque, one of Alm's clerics, came over and healed me. Most of the pain was gone, but it took me a moment to stay steady on my feet. Saber was with me, holding me up with one arm. Alm was able to take down Duma with his Falchion before any of us had another chance of dying.

Mila and Duma moved on, leaving the struggling country to its people. Man of the Rigelians and Zofians still had some bad blood. Alm and Celica became the first king and queen of the united Valentia, doing their best to help people adapt to relying on each other and their skills. Mae and Boey got together and settled down on Novis, preferring a simple life, and Jessie, Kamui, and Saber remade Greith's Citadel into a city for mercenaries and sellswords of all kinds.

What happened with me and Saber? Well, after the battle, I proposed, we got married, and we've been together ever since. The journey we went on was full of laughs, fear, and near-death situations, and we lived to tell the tale.

As for my future, I decided to become a baker. I set up my shop at Zofia Harbor, selling bread to incoming and departing people. Saber came to visit me frequently, since it was harder and more dangerous for me to trek through the desert alone. We were happy, but how will he react when I tell him that the two of us will soon become three?

*If you guys make the request, then I'll work on a sequel. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed this sweet one-shot!*


End file.
